Karl Puckett
Fish, Wildlife and Parks is seeking information on a year-old wolf that was shot and killed in November on the Rocky Mountain Front three weeks after it had been fitted with a radio collar so the pack to which it belonged could be better monitored.
The Crown Mountain pack lives at the edge of the Lewis and Clark National Forest in the Benchmark area and also uses private land, according to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.
A rancher previously shot another wolf in the same pack for harassing cattle in the spring. It is legal to shoot wolves in defense of property, but authorities most be notified. In the case of the young wolf that was shot in November, FWP was not notified.
Ty Smucker, a FWP wolf management specialist, said the wolf had just been fitted with a collar so the Crown Mountain Pack could be monitored because of its proximity to livestock. If wolves are suspected of getting into cattle, FWP puts more effort into trying to fit a member with a radio collar, Smucker said.
“We managed to catch a pup and get it radio-collared,” Smucker said. “We put several months into trying to get the collar on. Then we got one and it was only out for three weeks and got shot.”
The wolf was caught in a leg-hold trap with rubber-padded jaws and fitted with the radio collar.
The wolf was illegally killed Nov. 7 or 8 along the Benchmark Road west of Augusta, according to FWP.
FWP Game Warden Kqyn Kuka said she is looking for anybody who saw the dead wolf Nov. 7 or Nov. 8.
The Crown Mountain pack has four adults and six pups. It was established a year or two after authorities removed the large Benchmark pack for killing calves.
About nine wolf packs roam the Rocky Mountain Front between Roger’s Pass and Glacier National Park, Smucker said. That includes the Blackfeet Reservation and the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex.
Call with information
Anyone who saw the dead animal, which had an orange radio collar, is urged to contact FWP game warden Kqyn Kuka, at 406-750-3574, or call 1-800-TIPMONT. Informants are kept confidential and rewards up to $1,000 are possible.